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After finishing Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse I decided to play another game published by SSI which was made on the same engine. The original version which was made for Windows 3.1 and 95 couldn't be installed on 64 bit system. Fortunatelly GOG has released this oldie as well, so after a brief moment I could admire the title screen in 800x600 resolution. The mouse scrolling is optimal, and there are no artifacts. The only problem that I've stumbled upon, are the random crashes. Sometimes they happened right after saving the game (which aren't corrupted, so nothing bad happens). While later on it occured after some sequence with voice acting. It wasn't as frequent, as I feared, so I could endure this without any problem.

Without further ado, let's start the LP with an intro sequence.

Which doesn't tell us much. Giant bees are attacking some random village.

After that we see this screen.

I've decided to play on medium difficulty for balanced experience and naming my digital alter ego Hudson, because this game is apparently full of bugs. There are no other things that we can change. The box cover is totally misleading since we can't make our hero with blond hair.

Spoiler(Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content)Show SpoilerHide Spoiler

We are somewhere in the gigantic web labyrinth, where the giant spider queen is being irritated by seeing us again. I don't know what she means by that, but I'm sure we will learn about it later on. She is bored with humans trying to be heroes, does a devil hand sign with her right hand (seriously, she does that!) and sends us ... somewhere.

Hudson without any feedback tells me, that he was meeting his sister.

"Yeah, but is our sister hot?"

Patience Melcar.

This is a village of Addegun. The crabs may look harmless, but they actually attack and you will loose health. It's best to just avoid them.

The interface is really simple. We have a backpack icon with all our items which we find and the spellbook. The three circles are for choosing the spells from the book for quick use (with Z,X and C buttons). We control the power of the spell, by deciding how long we keep the magic attack on hold. The spell power grows, and we can see how much on the small horizontal bar above the circles. The red bar on the left is our life, and the green-yellow one is for mana. The latter one replenishes itself with the passing time and sometimes when we reach some major plot point. It's an action adventure game in it's heart just like Al-Qadim.

I can go only in the northern direction.

From the nearby hut the doors are smashed and two 100 % white zombie like creatures are really interested in me. I introduce myself properly with both fists.

Damn! Hudson must be a long distant relative of Kenshiro from Fist of The North Star.

He is so powerful that he turned the zombies into pile of intestines and bones without any problem. I found a Mana Bolt spell which one of the monsters had. It's really weak, but I can keep some distance between myself and enemies, and that's what really counts.

Time to start looking for valuable stuff in the village. I need everything what I can get.

But apart from more corpses and empty vases with some furniture the place is empty. I move to the western part of island.
I finally meet another person.

That is a good question. There is something odd happening here.

After that there is nothing more I can talk about. Not that I want to. I walk slowly away. The rocks have created the natural maze, but I find exit without any problems. There is another men who starts the conversation.

I try to be polite and understanding, knowing that most of the island's population has been killed already.

After that he isn't talkative much, so I can ignore him for the time being. He unlocks the path for me and I stumble upon a small boy, who apparently is my younger brother.

It's hard to tell, but since it is basically a tutorial chapter I think that not for long.

Hah, I knew it.

Since the hut on the right is so close I just check up just to be sure I don't miss anything.

At least know I know what will be the next step in our journey, and what to expect. We don't learn much from other dialogue options. I tried to scout the area, but surprisingly a group of giant mosquitoes attacks the villagers. Rumble time!

The pack divides the attack between the smaller groups, and unfortunately the guy who was blocking my path died. We move quicker than them, so basically is a hit and run operation. The mana bolt spell was useful and I can finally scavenge the remaining parts of the village.

I find an amulet nearby. I can't wear it and use it, but I'm sure it will be useful.

In one of the huts I find a really interesting scrolls regarding the resurrection ritual. I've got the amulet already, yay.
I visit Ennest, who is the leader of the village and has some interesting information to share with us.

I ask him about the Shaman, since he is the one I would need to resurrect.

And the Water Nymph as well.

I think we can clearly see what we will have to do here. I finally check up with my brother. He introduces us to the storyteller, who gives us a special Pendant of Communication. This allows him to follow our actions through the course of the game, and comment on them every now and then. It is quite annoying to be honest, but we can't progress without it.

He gives us armor spell, which is quite useful. It creates the grey magic barrier which makes us less fragile.
After that I try to enter one last hut again, but without any success.

Well, I've killed all the hostiles in the area. If you want it to be any more safe, you need to find a new place to live. Whatever, time to move on and find the corpse of the shaman.

A helpful crow is making sounds while he is near the corpse of the shaman. Now I need to find some blood that to start the ritual. Our birdie is really helpful and makes a short trip towards south.

There is one problem though. I'm missing something, since I can't take blood with my bare hands. After quick tour I realize that I missed the spot near the unfriendly necrophile.

A sea sponge, how creative. I return to the corpse and finally the shaman is alive.

Or more like undead, because he resembles the earlier creatures that I have killed. The spell won't last long so we quickly run to the altar to summon the Nymph. I wonder how will she look.

Behold the beautiful...

Nymph !?!? That was unexpected.

Poor shaman is dead again, but he saved the island.

Looks like someone has unusual taste, if you ask me.

The village leader is grateful to the shaman, but he forgot to mention us.

I take whatever I can, although I would expect something more to be honest.

Yeah! I have free BOAT TICKET so I can finally end this chapter. Before venturing I meet a friendly face.

Of course I accept the quest. Maybe we will receive something nice in return.

This ends first chapter of the story, which was rather simple and easy to complete. From now on things will probably get more interesting and more difficult. Time to find Sulianna. All aboard!

I see a jar of honey in this room, but the bees will kill me if I try to take it. I know, because I've try to take it.

Oh really? I don't see any guards and magical barriers so let's see what's in this building.

Some strange scroll regarding the convertion...

... and a mooka statue. I don't really know what I can use it for, but whatever.

Last, but not least, some very interesting information regarding a nectar and transformation of some sort. I look other smaller houses to concentrate on the big one behind the closed gate.

I forgot in my first entry, that regarding the hp/mana, we can find some places, where we can sleep for free to restore them. There aren't many of them, but considering the scarcity of potions, it can be really helpful if you are running on fumes. Let's talk to the men, who is near the centre of the building, in which some sort of festivities are underway.

He seems to be... confused. Really confused.

(I'll be using H: for Hudson and A: for answers depending on the person if needed)

H: Saved? Saved from what?
A: Saved from eating foul mammals, friend. No more grubbing in the dirt for food with the jagtera here! Haha! But wait...
You are not Hadrik! Why have you come back so soon?

H: Come back? I never left!
A: There is no need to shout, young lady. I heard you perfectly well for the first time. Now where did your brother go? He was here a moment ago. (Wait, what?)

H: I think you are really confused.
A: I'm not confused! Just happy. They have returned, you know. Can you believe it! Treasure sailing, sweet honey, food on the table... . No more grubbing in the dirt! Haha! Soon the tall treasure ships with white sails a-billowing because our armies jaws clacking! Carapaces gleaming! Haha! Giant slaves weeding my fields! Reaping my grain! Washing my robes! Jagtera roasting on spit! Delicious! Swimming in lakes of liquid gold. Streets paved with diamonds! They'll do the work! They'll raise the crops! They'll lick the grim from my boots! They'll go to war! Other nations will bow to us and send us generous tribute!

At this point of conversation I just want to ask him about my sister, since he is just spewing same unhinged things about Jagtera. And no, I don't know why the guy confuses my name all the time, and then he thinks I'm a women. But it's 2019, so I won't judge. Just keep your hands, where I can see them.

H: My sister - have you talked with her?
A: Of course! That is, yes. At least I think so. I mean, probably. More likely than not.

H: More likely than not she was my sister?
A: More likely than not I talked to her. She looked like you. Her name was Su... Sule... Sulie...
H: Sulianna?
A: Of course! That is, yes. At least I think so. More likely than not.
H: More likely than not Sulianna was her name?
A: More likely than not Sulianna is your sister.
H: Sulianna is my sister!
A: See? Just as I told you. I told her what I told you. They have returned!
H: The Jagtera, you mean?
A: Yes!

Enough is enough! I'm loosing patience here, and the guy obviously has some real problems. I move onward.

I try to talk with the other guy who is guarding the doors. I'm direct and ask again about Sulianna.

So she isn't in the town probably. I try to ask other people. What the hell are they doing to that beetle creature?

I try to ask about the Sulianna again. But instead I met the girl, who Clorin mentioned regarding the flowers I should deliver.

Cool. I guess this quest was not a waste of time after all. I try to find more information regarding the Jagtera, nectar and the village.

The natives just talk about the joy of nectar, and how everyone should taste it. Almost like they are in some strange hypnotic state. I learn nothing else from them. They just want to drink that sweet golden nectar. The strangers wearing the red robes are the nobles. I don't expect much from them, but I might try to learn more about them.

I'll keep that in mind. Although information regarding the transformation that I found in the scroll makes me think why the nobles are so eager to give it to the people. Nothing suspicious here! Oh well, I won't drink it for now. Let's talk with the lady on the right with a men beside her.

Hmm, I need to watch out and not be rude towards the old lady and nobles.

Apart from that, I can't ask about anything interesting. I almost finished the scouting of the whole area. I might as well see, what's in the nearby doors at the eastern exit... I met some strange lady.

Yeah, I don't know what is hapenning. Let's pretend that we have low intelligence.

And a yellow beetle farts rainbows at morning.

Yeah, start talking some sense. I have headache from the conversation with the guy who is nearby. I can introduce you to him, but you probably know him already.

She quietly walks away, while some two men are shouting at me and asking about a women who was with me. I'm playing innocent of course.

The weird lady returns not long after those two are gone.

We learn about the underground resistance movement and where it is located. Our sister is in the secret base, so we obviously need to venture the area and find it. The jungle is like a big crossroads, where we need to go in a specific direction to find specific place. There are some cavern entries as well, so I take my time and try to see as much as possible. There are enemies in the jungle, but it's easier to just avoid them, than fight.

I found deserted village with a strange portal like thing. But unfortunately it's not working.

To my surprise I find one last living men among the ruins. He doesn't want me to enter though.

I also stumble upon some noble and a mutated guard of his. He doesn't want to be bothered right now, and I don't want to start a fight.

The last interesting encounter for now, is the ghost of the men, who apparently is dead. He tells us, that probably it's because he killed some people in the vengeance. For now, I can't help him.

What savage manners, what people! What senseless nights, what uninteresting, uneventful days! The rage for card-playing, the gluttony, the drunkenness, the continual talk always about the same thing. Useless pursuits and conversations always about the same things absorb the better part of one's time, the better part of one's strength, and in the end there is left a life groveling and curtailed, worthless and trivial, and there is no escaping or getting away from it -- just as though one were in a madhouse or a prison.

The only actual reason I'm putting in those obscure references (disregarding the times I do it completely subconsciously) [in ATOM] is because the popular saying "People are alive as long as they are remembered" really hits home with me for some reason and I want to prolong the lives of things I like through it.

Binky AOD is something of a refutation of the Fury Road / Fallout vision of the apocalypse as something that will bring about a bright new world in which rugged frontierfolk will create utopias (after dealing with the trollish remnants of the world that mostly perished in fire); those basically say, "If all the world were reduced to frontier days, the best qualities would emerge from a mix of benevolent men and feisty women to bring about the idealized frontier image of Little House on the Prairie or Giants in the Earth." AOD says, "If all the world were reduced to frontier days, human greed, fear, shortsightedness, seflishness, and clannishness would push us the rest of the way to extinction." The inspiring (?) message of AOD is that you shouldn't think that the reset button can solve the world's problems; you ought to fix and save the world we have.

Classic games journolol, writing about games they don't understand on a platform they don't care about for an audience they despise out of a sense of misplaced superiority. All that because no conventional media company will hire them for their writing.

the reason why 'fallout' is so 'popular' in Russia: It's not really Fallout as a franchise but rather the story of a world that has been destroyed. The one without any sense of direction or substantive replacement for the things that are gone now.

As I see it, it's mostly an unconscious feeling that has to do with USSR's dissolution and Perestroika. 'Russian fallout' is usually a setting soaked in Soviet nostalgia and the signifier of the era past. Usually, nobody is rebuilding anything in it. People are kinda caught in the perpetual state of trance, reliving the realities of the time long gone (agitprop, social realism, the elements of everyday life).

Psychologically, it's a much deeper topic than the western postapoc. For Russia, apocalypse was very much real, and they're still getting over it. It's too early to let the history go and move on. Until then, people are gonna cherish these ruins, an epoch done and gone. While Fallout is a trauma gotten from a threat of nuclear annihilation (hence Fallout's more rational and detached approach), things like ATOM or You Are Empty are the result of a very real trauma, the annihilation of the Soviet world. And since it was not very 'tangible' an annihilation (in the sense that the cultural death is not as tangible as the one caused by nuclear explosions), the consequences are more rooted in culture, art, and the psychology of people that are shaped by said art.

1.) I want a game almost exactly like the old ones. Even all the UI quirks, gameplay, MIDI sound/music and artstyle of that era.

2.) I want a game very sinilar to the old ones, but I’m ok with some modern touches like 3D graphics, better UI, etc.

3.) I want a spirirtual sucessor that captures a lot of the feelz and lore of the old games but expands the gameplay and switches up the formula to not only modernize it but push the boundaries of design as if the series still continued today.

These groups of people have and will always exist. The only difference with kickstarter is that all three will have given money in advance for the thing they want. So naturally you’re going to get butthurt no matter what.

Conservative [game] industry abandons old shit on the road all the time, when they feel that good parts of it are not worth the effort. Then kickstarters try to play nostalgia card and revive it, yet the things just crumble in their hands into a dust as if people never understood why these things worked

Yeat at the same time, people who do understand why these things worked manage to make them spring to life because they loved them for reals and have real passion.

Understand this, the Dark Side's true power is not in that it allowed Palpatine to hide his presence while holding regular meetings with the Jedi High Council. It lies in the fact that it allowed him to maintain his composure and not laugh in their faces.

Ok guys, fun's over. This topic is getting too heated and people are clearly divulging information not intended for us. As a site, we have a duty to uphold good relations with developers so that we can all work together and have the kind of fun games that we all...

Oh wait, this is the Codex. Sorry, forgot for a minute there. Thought this was NeoGaf or something for a minute.

We're all struggling in the same tar-pit, we're all tar-splattered, and we'll probably all sink, but we have no hope at all unless we spend our energies helping ourselves and others rather than shoving each other down deeper.

[anti-colonial and Communist] revolutions tend to end in disaster for the people and the land irrespective of the moral justification at the outset because the skillset needed to throw off a more powerful oppressor is almost entirely different from, and even exclusive of, the skillset needed to build a political order.

Some of us actually like their hobbies and enjoy good games - including the challenge on the way - not just completing them like addicted junkies who just want to +1 their prestigious gaming experience. The Void was made to be enjoyed, and I enjoyed it the first three times even though I failed miserably until I actually learned how to play. Learning is part of the fun in this game, just like in many others. Do you also bitch how shit Dwarf Fortress is because you didn't win the game when you tried? Or that you didn't finish Crusader Kings 2 because not only you did not manage to conquer the whole world and convert everyone, but also you were thrown to prison, and died?

If people like their games casual and easy, fine, I can understand not everyone likes challenge. However, when you say something like "Games are meant to be finished" telling others their ways of enjoyment are wrong and games should be done to YOUR liking, because you are the only one who gets it right, then you are an idiot. I played D:OS three times but never actually finished it - even though the first time I reached the end boss. End fight was boring shit, so I just stopped playing. I could finish the game within 15 minutes, but it stopped being fun and I just stopped. Games are not meant to be finished, not for me at least, games are meant to be enjoyed.

The best game writers, like Avellone, know how to leverage the medium to maximize the benefits of agency and complicity

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MRY, from http://www.cshpicone.com/interview-mark-and-vince:
the question with an RPG system – whether it’s inventory management, item variety, crafting, resting, whatever – is whether it gives the player interesting, meaningful, and enjoyable ways to engage with the game. If a mechanic doesn’t, if it only feeds player mania or encourages degenerate play styles (like rest-pre-buff-fight crawling, save-scumming, paper shuffling, shuttling back and forth from town, etc.), it shouldn’t be in the game

all the games that are given as examples and considered well-written by most people on the Codex are games which had just one auteur primarily responsible. PST is recognized as MCAs baby, AoD is VDs baby, Betrayal at Krondor is Hallfords, Geneforge is Vogels, and so on. And I doubt any those guys had professional editors nor did they need them. Much more important seems to me a clear vision for the game as a whole.
[...]
the tl;dr of this post is probably 'too many cooks'.

Coming up with a game that has a clear and consistent vision behind it appears to require either a strong guiding hand of a singular mind or it requires some extremely tight (and perhaps improbable) level of collaboration and converging creative ideas. The former might be impossible today for anything beyond smaller indie games, the latter must be incredibly difficult and thus incredibly rare.

I think the conventional answer is to say that the question ["What's a RPG"] can't be answered in the abstract because it would prejudge the issue should it arise in an actual case or controversy, which naturally would have to be evaluated on its own particular facts. Then when pressed on whether an already-released game is an RPG, I would insist on answering "under established usages." "IGN would call that an RPG, Mr. Senator." "But would you?" "I'm afraid I haven't played it sufficiently to form my own opinion."

By placing the development of the law over a millennium of problems and solutions and solutions to the problems created by the solutions (and cultural and social changes creating new problems addressed with repurposed old solutions amidst the intersection of multiple dispute resolution traditions [civil/anglo-saxon/danelaw]), it really humanized the idiosyncracies and helped me to see the law as a human achievement iterated over generations, like a city or a religion, representing the compromise of a million different perspectives rather than as a failed attempt at perfect organization (a paradigm which I think or project is at the heart of most cynicism about the law).

I find it amusing how many "Anarchists" are employed in often stable, secure jobs. I'm sure there's no connection whatsoever

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99% = Angry at their parents who just want/ed them to work hard and enjoy life. (Grandparents probably escaped from oppression too )

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I once read an article of how Russian punk music is low on talking about the greatness of anarchy vs western punk music and the author speculated that it was due to collapse of the soviet union and the period thereafter and the experience of real anarchy, not sure whether there's any truth to it, but yeah, most anarchists strike me as hilarious naive or just stupid

'Hell, I heard about guys picking up little twelve year old girls on chat rooms. If they can get little girls to meet them in real life just from a chat room, you better believe we'll be able to sell speakers.'

1) The game will contain somewhat more "woke" content than, let's say, The Outer Worlds.
2) It still won't have enough of it to come across as an "SJW game". Few big budget productions are dumb enough to actually go all the way.
3) The people who obsess about such things will fixate on some particular example for a while, then move on.
4) At the end of the day, when people look back at the game and talk about its flaws, the SJW stuff won't be high up on their list of complaints. (See also: BattleTech)
I suppose there is a chance that this game could go full Sweden ala Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, but I don't think that's Paradox's style. They didn't get where they are today by being reckless.

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What worries me is not 1) from your list or the projected consequences you list in 2) 3) and 4), to me it's not a matter of what they add to pander certain people, it's about the interesting and fun ideas that will be filtered out to avoid offending anyone.

Which is bound to happen. Not enough to affect overall quality? Maybe. Hopefully. I suspect we've reached a stage where anybody writing content for any media exerts self-censorship to stay out of trouble , to some degree even not consciously, so it's hard to say why the end result is the way it is.

If there's a common thread to the SJW, it's 'socialism minus class-consciousness'. If you had to sum it up, it's the theory that Michelle Obama is more oppressed than the straight white man that empties her trash can.

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MRY, from https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/art.../issues/issue_100/554-A-Childhood-in-Hyrule.3
designers and players whose formative experience with roleplaying games is Baldur's Gate (or worse, Final Fantasy), not a tabletop adventure, will see the genre in a totally different light than did the designers who made those games in the first place. The designers of early computer roleplaying games drew from memories of collaborative storytelling with friends. They failed to mirror that experience in computer games, and as a result players and designers relying on those games for inspiration have come to think of RPGs as fantasy cartoons wrapped around random numbers.

Oh, this game was cool. More interesting than most AAA titles bundled together and wit many quirky little details (for example, try coming back to the starter village, you'll see what happens, or mess up with random tombs, you might have ghosts spawn to stop you from desecrating their own graves).

Since Hudson is not from Phoros, does drinking the nectar then make him stronger?

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It's stated pretty much what happens if you do. Hudson* is a dirty foreigner so he won't be too badly affected by taking the local drugs here. At least for now.
The game nowadays wouldn't be taken well, since taking exotic substances is a must-have to advance the story here.

H: Saved? Saved from what?
A: Saved from eating foul mammals, friend. No more grubbing in the dirt for food with the jagtera here!

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This must be where some of the UN's latest ideas regarding world hunger came from. EAt insects lol!

*If we're talking about bugs, you should have named the MC as Todd, Howard, or even Mac(intosh).

Spoiler(Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content)Show SpoilerHide Spoiler

After finding the hideout, the guard stops me immediately and asks me, if I'm a mutant or a human. I'm going for direct response and tell him, that I'm brother of Sulianna.

Looks like someone has been guarding for too long.

Smaller? She must have really been pumping iron when I was absent.

After that cold welcome I can move to the west.

For the time being the doors are closed, so I kill some time by talking with the men who looks like the leader of this small group of rebels.

I introduce myself by mentioning Cetina who gave me direction to their base.

The people here seem to be really obsessed with the revolution.

I ask, what's wrong with the nectar supplied by nobles.

After that, the meeting is finally over. I search a small room in front of me. There is only a single tombstone here. RIP.

Finally, I found my ... sister ?! Damn, she really is strong and independent women, that's for sure. The guard was right after all.

We quickly catch on, but there is someone else with her. A suspicious figure called Nookadum.

I quickly tell me story about the journey to the base. It's time for some answers. Sadly Nookadum stops my lore dump moment.

I would, if I could ask about it directly

Well, that was very informative indeed.

After that Sulianna tells us interesting things about the nectar.

but it also give strenght boost, to those who use it!

I ask the obvious question.

I need some directions for my next move.

Damn, that would be too easy.

I hope to test this nectar on myself when I have the opportunity. I need to cross out all other options of conversation. I start with burning up all the nectar!

Give me some quest, please!

:Rubs hands:

:Rubbing intensifies:

Of course I'm willing to take the risk on myself and try the nectar, since everyone is talking all the time about it. Besides, it could make things more interesting. But I can sense that I'm not the only one interested in it.

Give my that sweet nectar sis.

I was hoping for some new mission, but I need to ask the guy who is walking nearby for a new task.

Sweet, find Zizu with soldiers nearby in the west.

Just to be sure, and to avoid unnecessary backtracking, I ask the leader of a small group, if he has anything to add regarding my mission.

As I've said before, really motivated group of REVOLUTIONARIES.

The jungle is crawling with enemies, but for now I just keep running since there is no point in killing them. Finally in the western part of the mountain, i find a single rebel.

Damn, something bad must have happened.

That was disappointing. But the men quickly stops me.

Cool, I can do that. I've already made some map with the locations, and scouting will be a good opportunity to add more of them.

I go to the Thelyd's stronghold. Hudson hears something, that keep him going up north without me having any control. What's going on?

After that I have gained control once again. Hudson thinks loudly and tells me that I shouldn't be here for too long. I quickly grab the scrolls and read them.

After that the message ends. I quickly check the entrance.

The Thelyds are giant ants, and as you already know, there is a queen somewhere in this labyrinth. Thelyds are really aggresive, especially the big black ones who are warriors and I quickly decide to evacuate. Whoever was here, he is probably dead or in the storeroom waiting to be eaten.

In the nearby hut I found an interesting book. Sadly I can't read it.

In the far west I find some kind of a gigantic palace with a nasty looking things. They won't attack me on sight, which is probably a big plus, judging from today's meals that you can see on the plates.

The southwest part isn't better at all. The spider webs are blocking the path, and I quickly evacuate from the area.

I find a cave at the south of the big mountain that I was told to check as well.

The place is a real maze, but I can finally use my boosted powers. It seems the nectar doesn't make a big difference.

The mana bolt spell is really useful with all those wide corridors.

I kill all the larvas. I don't know if it makes any difference, but I don't want to be ambushed by huge groups in the later parts of the game.

How did this ended up here?

Finally, I'm returning to the ....

base ? Damn, looks like everyone left in a hurry and the place is infested with bugs. But where are the rebels?

Fortunately for me, there is a short note from Sulianna.

The new base is situated in the far north. Damn, they are quick builders.

Look at my biceps man, don't you recognize them?

Ha. I finally meet Zizu, I tell her about the stronghold and the cave. I ask about my sister.

She also mentions the statue, that was brought by one of the soldiers.

Very interesting. I have already found some statues, and they will most probably be useful to us after all.

This place is really something else, really clean, but it feels more like a tomb than a place where someone would live.

Yes! The robot might have something interesting in stock.

Cool, another place where I can rest.

On the western corner I saw someone. A strange green person, but he lock the doors behind and I can't do anything about them. Time to go back.

WTF! Another breach and there is no one left.

Let's rock!

I find another scroll, and I think to myself, that would be a great idea to take it with me. Just to avoid any more situations like this. Ah, la resistance!

I find the newest locations of the rebel's base. I need to use teleport on the left to be able to use the wooden elevator. The place needs a neon sign to not make it more obvious.

Well, it looks I was right. The nobles don't fool around and they are really serious about the extermination of any opposition.

All those tombstones...

There are four doors in the south. They are guarded by an old men.

The men has seen to much it seems.

He even forgot his own name!

All right, it's a puzzle. I need to check out all the tombstones for some clues.

The story is really merciless and we see most of the rebels wiped out.

That was brutal. It seems that I'm the only one capable of doing something about the nobles. Not counting a crazy Crispy and some kids.

Hm. Interesting, go on.

The kid is leaving, and I knock one more time to give and old men the answer to his riddle.

It's easy to brute force your answer here, since there is no penalty regarding the number of answers really. Forfend did avoid the jaws decend, and since he is the only one left alive it makes sense.

Oh great. So Forfend ends up in his grave, and there are some strange dark ghosts attacking me as well. Luckilly I can move to the safe location behind the doors.

Well, at least there is a healer still alive.

Life is an endless despair.

Good, something to focus on. Because right now I really don't know how to move up with my quest. Hmm, that carpet looks fabulous, maybe it's a magic carpet from Al Qadim?

Coin in the carpet? Who does that? The carpet can't be used for quick transport, but it's still interesting finding.

Panorpids, pyramids, lashes, women. Sounds kinky and interesting.

I go to the second base and put the flower on the grave of ZEENENA.

I get a Charm Of Luck. I wish I had it with me before meeting the rebels.

Since there is nothing else to do, I check my inventory. I forgot about the book which I found earlier. There was a men living in a desolated village who could be interested in it.

Old men asks me, to read him the beginning of the book, and after that lets me in.

He is a great source of information, so I ask him about every topic from the list:

The Underground hall I visited.

Hmm, that's very nice but I wonder what does he drink or eat? No matter, this was a very interesting conversation. I decide to scout the eastern part of the jungle, since it was the only one that I can visit without running in circles. Bingo! the pyramid mentioned in the carpet. That must be it.

The top of the pyramid automatically opens and I'm alone in some bizzare room. Full of nasty holes, full of really nasty spikes. The thing at the centre looks like an altar of some sorts. I need to carefully move up there.

The talisman! The coin that was in the carpet.

I will go with the leash first, since it's the first choice on the list.

Well, It turns out that I need a name, which I need to use during the whole ritual. Fortunately the altar being tells me, to ask the beekeeper about it.

After a long journey back, I find the beekeeper. The men looks strange.

Wait a minute...

"Bees are amazing creatures!"

Sting?

Very subtle name.

"Where did panorpids go?"

All right, I'm back at the pyramid.

It's time for me to solve the ritual puzzle and see what's going on with the giant bees aka Panorpids.

This was a rather depressive chapter in our story, and next time hopefully I will start fighting back after what happened with the rebels and Sulianna.

The only actual reason I'm putting in those obscure references (disregarding the times I do it completely subconsciously) [in ATOM] is because the popular saying "People are alive as long as they are remembered" really hits home with me for some reason and I want to prolong the lives of things I like through it.

Binky AOD is something of a refutation of the Fury Road / Fallout vision of the apocalypse as something that will bring about a bright new world in which rugged frontierfolk will create utopias (after dealing with the trollish remnants of the world that mostly perished in fire); those basically say, "If all the world were reduced to frontier days, the best qualities would emerge from a mix of benevolent men and feisty women to bring about the idealized frontier image of Little House on the Prairie or Giants in the Earth." AOD says, "If all the world were reduced to frontier days, human greed, fear, shortsightedness, seflishness, and clannishness would push us the rest of the way to extinction." The inspiring (?) message of AOD is that you shouldn't think that the reset button can solve the world's problems; you ought to fix and save the world we have.

Classic games journolol, writing about games they don't understand on a platform they don't care about for an audience they despise out of a sense of misplaced superiority. All that because no conventional media company will hire them for their writing.

the reason why 'fallout' is so 'popular' in Russia: It's not really Fallout as a franchise but rather the story of a world that has been destroyed. The one without any sense of direction or substantive replacement for the things that are gone now.

As I see it, it's mostly an unconscious feeling that has to do with USSR's dissolution and Perestroika. 'Russian fallout' is usually a setting soaked in Soviet nostalgia and the signifier of the era past. Usually, nobody is rebuilding anything in it. People are kinda caught in the perpetual state of trance, reliving the realities of the time long gone (agitprop, social realism, the elements of everyday life).

Psychologically, it's a much deeper topic than the western postapoc. For Russia, apocalypse was very much real, and they're still getting over it. It's too early to let the history go and move on. Until then, people are gonna cherish these ruins, an epoch done and gone. While Fallout is a trauma gotten from a threat of nuclear annihilation (hence Fallout's more rational and detached approach), things like ATOM or You Are Empty are the result of a very real trauma, the annihilation of the Soviet world. And since it was not very 'tangible' an annihilation (in the sense that the cultural death is not as tangible as the one caused by nuclear explosions), the consequences are more rooted in culture, art, and the psychology of people that are shaped by said art.

1.) I want a game almost exactly like the old ones. Even all the UI quirks, gameplay, MIDI sound/music and artstyle of that era.

2.) I want a game very sinilar to the old ones, but I’m ok with some modern touches like 3D graphics, better UI, etc.

3.) I want a spirirtual sucessor that captures a lot of the feelz and lore of the old games but expands the gameplay and switches up the formula to not only modernize it but push the boundaries of design as if the series still continued today.

These groups of people have and will always exist. The only difference with kickstarter is that all three will have given money in advance for the thing they want. So naturally you’re going to get butthurt no matter what.

Conservative [game] industry abandons old shit on the road all the time, when they feel that good parts of it are not worth the effort. Then kickstarters try to play nostalgia card and revive it, yet the things just crumble in their hands into a dust as if people never understood why these things worked

Yeat at the same time, people who do understand why these things worked manage to make them spring to life because they loved them for reals and have real passion.

Understand this, the Dark Side's true power is not in that it allowed Palpatine to hide his presence while holding regular meetings with the Jedi High Council. It lies in the fact that it allowed him to maintain his composure and not laugh in their faces.

Ok guys, fun's over. This topic is getting too heated and people are clearly divulging information not intended for us. As a site, we have a duty to uphold good relations with developers so that we can all work together and have the kind of fun games that we all...

Oh wait, this is the Codex. Sorry, forgot for a minute there. Thought this was NeoGaf or something for a minute.

We're all struggling in the same tar-pit, we're all tar-splattered, and we'll probably all sink, but we have no hope at all unless we spend our energies helping ourselves and others rather than shoving each other down deeper.

[anti-colonial and Communist] revolutions tend to end in disaster for the people and the land irrespective of the moral justification at the outset because the skillset needed to throw off a more powerful oppressor is almost entirely different from, and even exclusive of, the skillset needed to build a political order.

Some of us actually like their hobbies and enjoy good games - including the challenge on the way - not just completing them like addicted junkies who just want to +1 their prestigious gaming experience. The Void was made to be enjoyed, and I enjoyed it the first three times even though I failed miserably until I actually learned how to play. Learning is part of the fun in this game, just like in many others. Do you also bitch how shit Dwarf Fortress is because you didn't win the game when you tried? Or that you didn't finish Crusader Kings 2 because not only you did not manage to conquer the whole world and convert everyone, but also you were thrown to prison, and died?

If people like their games casual and easy, fine, I can understand not everyone likes challenge. However, when you say something like "Games are meant to be finished" telling others their ways of enjoyment are wrong and games should be done to YOUR liking, because you are the only one who gets it right, then you are an idiot. I played D:OS three times but never actually finished it - even though the first time I reached the end boss. End fight was boring shit, so I just stopped playing. I could finish the game within 15 minutes, but it stopped being fun and I just stopped. Games are not meant to be finished, not for me at least, games are meant to be enjoyed.

The best game writers, like Avellone, know how to leverage the medium to maximize the benefits of agency and complicity

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MRY, from http://www.cshpicone.com/interview-mark-and-vince:
the question with an RPG system – whether it’s inventory management, item variety, crafting, resting, whatever – is whether it gives the player interesting, meaningful, and enjoyable ways to engage with the game. If a mechanic doesn’t, if it only feeds player mania or encourages degenerate play styles (like rest-pre-buff-fight crawling, save-scumming, paper shuffling, shuttling back and forth from town, etc.), it shouldn’t be in the game

all the games that are given as examples and considered well-written by most people on the Codex are games which had just one auteur primarily responsible. PST is recognized as MCAs baby, AoD is VDs baby, Betrayal at Krondor is Hallfords, Geneforge is Vogels, and so on. And I doubt any those guys had professional editors nor did they need them. Much more important seems to me a clear vision for the game as a whole.
[...]
the tl;dr of this post is probably 'too many cooks'.

Coming up with a game that has a clear and consistent vision behind it appears to require either a strong guiding hand of a singular mind or it requires some extremely tight (and perhaps improbable) level of collaboration and converging creative ideas. The former might be impossible today for anything beyond smaller indie games, the latter must be incredibly difficult and thus incredibly rare.

I think the conventional answer is to say that the question ["What's a RPG"] can't be answered in the abstract because it would prejudge the issue should it arise in an actual case or controversy, which naturally would have to be evaluated on its own particular facts. Then when pressed on whether an already-released game is an RPG, I would insist on answering "under established usages." "IGN would call that an RPG, Mr. Senator." "But would you?" "I'm afraid I haven't played it sufficiently to form my own opinion."

By placing the development of the law over a millennium of problems and solutions and solutions to the problems created by the solutions (and cultural and social changes creating new problems addressed with repurposed old solutions amidst the intersection of multiple dispute resolution traditions [civil/anglo-saxon/danelaw]), it really humanized the idiosyncracies and helped me to see the law as a human achievement iterated over generations, like a city or a religion, representing the compromise of a million different perspectives rather than as a failed attempt at perfect organization (a paradigm which I think or project is at the heart of most cynicism about the law).

I find it amusing how many "Anarchists" are employed in often stable, secure jobs. I'm sure there's no connection whatsoever

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99% = Angry at their parents who just want/ed them to work hard and enjoy life. (Grandparents probably escaped from oppression too )

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I once read an article of how Russian punk music is low on talking about the greatness of anarchy vs western punk music and the author speculated that it was due to collapse of the soviet union and the period thereafter and the experience of real anarchy, not sure whether there's any truth to it, but yeah, most anarchists strike me as hilarious naive or just stupid

'Hell, I heard about guys picking up little twelve year old girls on chat rooms. If they can get little girls to meet them in real life just from a chat room, you better believe we'll be able to sell speakers.'

1) The game will contain somewhat more "woke" content than, let's say, The Outer Worlds.
2) It still won't have enough of it to come across as an "SJW game". Few big budget productions are dumb enough to actually go all the way.
3) The people who obsess about such things will fixate on some particular example for a while, then move on.
4) At the end of the day, when people look back at the game and talk about its flaws, the SJW stuff won't be high up on their list of complaints. (See also: BattleTech)
I suppose there is a chance that this game could go full Sweden ala Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, but I don't think that's Paradox's style. They didn't get where they are today by being reckless.

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What worries me is not 1) from your list or the projected consequences you list in 2) 3) and 4), to me it's not a matter of what they add to pander certain people, it's about the interesting and fun ideas that will be filtered out to avoid offending anyone.

Which is bound to happen. Not enough to affect overall quality? Maybe. Hopefully. I suspect we've reached a stage where anybody writing content for any media exerts self-censorship to stay out of trouble , to some degree even not consciously, so it's hard to say why the end result is the way it is.

If there's a common thread to the SJW, it's 'socialism minus class-consciousness'. If you had to sum it up, it's the theory that Michelle Obama is more oppressed than the straight white man that empties her trash can.

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MRY, from https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/art.../issues/issue_100/554-A-Childhood-in-Hyrule.3
designers and players whose formative experience with roleplaying games is Baldur's Gate (or worse, Final Fantasy), not a tabletop adventure, will see the genre in a totally different light than did the designers who made those games in the first place. The designers of early computer roleplaying games drew from memories of collaborative storytelling with friends. They failed to mirror that experience in computer games, and as a result players and designers relying on those games for inspiration have come to think of RPGs as fantasy cartoons wrapped around random numbers.

That was one long update. Also, yeah, the rebels don't last long, even if the game is surprisingly progressive for its age.
Fun fact: The ghosts in that grim puzzle may randomly spawn if you take too long to solve the puzzle, or guess incorrectly too many times. Moreover, one of the graves that spawn ghosts is Sully's one, as if she was so mad at you she came back from the dead to punch you. Thankfully, the main character has a such mean hook that he can hurt ghosts with his bare hands.
No idea if the nectar improves your attack power though, it wasn't clear. Speaking of: That village with the bee-lover had a noble offering you nectar. You should try getting that if you can because it has a time-limit of sorts. You'll realize when exactly you're too late to get said nectar.

What savage manners, what people! What senseless nights, what uninteresting, uneventful days! The rage for card-playing, the gluttony, the drunkenness, the continual talk always about the same thing. Useless pursuits and conversations always about the same things absorb the better part of one's time, the better part of one's strength, and in the end there is left a life groveling and curtailed, worthless and trivial, and there is no escaping or getting away from it -- just as though one were in a madhouse or a prison.

Due to the jungle being semi-open I wanted to put more lore/context into the update and it's really long, I agree. Al Qadim was easier because it was more linear. I intend to make shorter updates for convenience. Thanks for the tip about the nectar.

From all of these comments I noticed a trend: Old Skool RPGs were difficult because they required persistence and hard work to figure out how to get to the end. Newer RPGs were challenging to finish because they get so boring you don't even want to finish them (c)

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After obtaining the information about the ritual, I can finally invoke the bee servant.

What is interesting, is that we are controlling the mind of the Panorpid servant. We are automatically sent to the hive.

As you can see, there is not much to see here. There are separate chamber closed for now, and beside some workers there is only a guard here.
What I found the hard way, it's to not irritate him with inane question regarding the hive. He gets angry quickly and I was attacked by some other warriors as well.

RIP

Ok. Time to restore my save game.

I fly into the north, and see a sort of tube. Behind this doors is the Queen, who will be giving me tasks to fulfill. She isn't impressed by our present.

Here is our first quest:

After that, a second task:

The first task is very straightforward. But to open to chamber with the Alpha warrior, I need to ask the guardian about it. This time I have more luck, but he tells us that we probably don't stand a chance. Only one way to find out!

After that, the Alpha introduces himself. Since I don't have any spells I need to watch out for my health. He is a honorable enemy, so there is no extra allies that would help him. After some melee fight I'm victorious. I guess he wasn't so tough after all.

Now I need to fulfill other quests. I ask the guard about the blood chamber. It's really helpful to see, how does he open it. Pressing the hexagonal symbols in a proper sequence is the only way to open each room in this location.

The best blood, is the one with the air bubbles, and it's the last one at the north. I drink as much as I can of it.

I put all the blood in the little hole near the Queen chamber. Now starts the harder part.

I ask politely about the egg chamber. Unfortunately this doesn't work like before.

Well, the guardian didn't give me much choice.
I hope this time there won't any surprises regarding the number of enemies.

Phew, he was a tough cookie but I can now open all the necessary chambers. But without the assist I need to ask the workers how to open them.

I asked a couple of them to finally try it myself. The sequences aren't really complicated - you need to push 4 symbols to open a chamber, while there is 11 symbols overall.

Solution for egg chamber:

Spoiler(Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content)Show SpoilerHide Spoiler

x

x x 4 x

x 1 x

2 x

3

I take the egg with me, and put it in the whole with the blood.

Now for the last chamber, where the wax is stored.

Solution for sequence to open it:

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x

x x x 4

x 1 2

x x

3

I grab the wax, and seal the hole with it.

I have done everything just like the Queen wanted. Unfortunately this still doesn't give me the green light to visit her. I need to play a role of a Sherlock Holmes The Consulting Detective.

After leaving the pyramid I'm looking for the mentioned body of the noble. There is also a Mooka statue and a scroll.

Hey, it's a new spell. Whirlwind isn't very powerful, but it can be a nuisance for the lesser foes.

I bring the body as instructed.

Finally!

Not! Damn, I'm in some really horrifying chamber filled with skeletons. I don't want to know what hornets in this world do with people, if bees do something like this.

The queen gives me a riddle to solve.

A murder mystery! The Queen gives me a free hint to have something that I can start with.

Of course it's vital to ask all three mentioned Panorpids about the case.

First I ask Cleopid about the murder.

Second is Blornid.

And last, but not least - Asorpid.

It's time to see who is who in this case and give the Queen the needed answers.

So who did it?

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It was Cleopid. My first questioned servant.

Wait, what do you mean "would have been" ?

Phew, at least all the effort was worth it.

"Ahhh, a renegade, a miscreant!
Why do you resist a joy, a peace of a hivemind?
But you shall be one with us yet!
Come to me my child!
Commmmme!"

Gulp. The Queen is a big girl and looks intimidating.

The Panorpid Queen is the first boss I have to face. We don't have any spells, and can't use potions / nectar (the nectar can be used as a health potion).
The Queen doesn't move, and that is good for us. She start with some vague threats and then the fight starts. There are Champion Panorpids with her, and it's necessary to kill them first, one by one, and to be locked by two or three of them. Otherwise we will be killed in a short time manner. After that I started attacking the Queen bitch. She uses some weak spells, like for example Mana Bolt, but quickly she can change her mind and in our direction we will see up to 4-5 Lighting Bolts, that can bounce off the walls. If that wasn't enough, she has also a deadly Acid Bolt and Fire Ball spells almost at the same time. If you are hit by the first, you are dead. The best way to deal with her, is to stay mobile at the beginning, where she will test our flying skills. After that the best approach is to be near her, above, and attack her while watching out for condensed magic attacks. Luckilly we have also a spit attack, which can be used for a distant attacks. That will speed up the duel and after almost 10-15 times I already have beaten her. I really didn't expected the beginning to be such unforgivable, but that is a good lesson for a future boss fights.

After that I return to my human body. I think I have had enough of bees for today. Time to see what was hidden in a chamber.

Eww, that's nasty. The Queen is dead, and behind her I grab the scroll with the Cure Poison spell. I'm sure it will be useful.

Oh, but what's this? A nice big pile of nectar! Time to consume more and gain more strenght. I hope this time the effect will be more significant.

Damn, the nectar must have been really fresh.

What the hell? Looks like the nectar is really working, but I didn't expected this. I'm now mutated and start my metamorphosis.

It's time to roam through the jungle with a new version of Hudson with more strenght in his arms/claws.

You should have summarized what the queen insect says before attacking you, I don't remember how it was able to tell you were an intruder. Also, you should have tried to upload a video of the "transformation sequence" that happens upon eating the royal jelly thing, that one was metal. The dude in the game's cover was a big hint that things would get... Weird. However, I'm not sure if you can ask the nectar in that village by now, since after certain events in-game (including this one), the island's landscape changes due these bugs' actions. Lastly, I'm not sure if there was a speed up magic spell but, if not, you should be able to eventually tough it out the trap with the deadly insects.

It's interesting that while Thunderscape's setting is a bit of a magi-tech thing, this game is quite exotic and more of an African/jungle theme, featuring one of the few "sapient bug hives" done well in videogames.

You should have summarized what the queen insect says before attacking you, I don't remember how it was able to tell you were an intruder. Also, you should have tried to upload a video of the "transformation sequence" that happens upon eating the royal jelly thing, that one was metal

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Done. The strange thing about the cover, is that our hero doesn't have such magnificent dark blond hair (it still looks great though). I wonder if there is even possible not be mutating to finish the game.

What savage manners, what people! What senseless nights, what uninteresting, uneventful days! The rage for card-playing, the gluttony, the drunkenness, the continual talk always about the same thing. Useless pursuits and conversations always about the same things absorb the better part of one's time, the better part of one's strength, and in the end there is left a life groveling and curtailed, worthless and trivial, and there is no escaping or getting away from it -- just as though one were in a madhouse or a prison.